Exhibition Opening 26 September - 6PM, 2025

In partnership with LE 18 we are pleased to invite you to the opening of SECOND INTENTION: The Economy of Illusion, a solo exhibition by Moroccan artist Ziad Naitaddi, curated by Inês Valle. 

The exhibition opens on 26 September 2025 at 6 pm at LE 18 in Marrakesh and will be on view until 29 November 2025. It is presented in partnership with Le Cube – Independent Art Room and the CERA PROJECT.

SECOND INTENTION:The Economy of Illusion, brings together a series of recent photographic works developed by Ziad Naitaddi during his residency at Hangar Lisbon in 2025. Through a bold and experimental visual language, the artist explores the complex interplay of illusion and perception between Morocco and Portugal — two countries that are often viewed through opposing lenses: one romanticised as a tourist destination and the other idealised as a place of migration and new beginnings. The exhibition navigates these dual projections, interrogating how visual culture, politics and personal narratives converge to shape flawed yet deeply felt notions of 'homeland' and 'elsewhere'. Both perspectives, rooted in imagined prosperity or disillusionment, reveal a dissonant cycle of perception. For example, migrants may view their homeland through a melancholic lens while idealising their destination through politically charged or iconographic fantasies. Conversely, local populations often mirror these illusions in reverse, revealing a shared sense of displacement and longing. At its core, the project grapples with the visual and emotional architectures of migration. It begins with images of Tangier, which are used here as a conceptual and narrative entry point, before shifting to the landscapes of Portugal.

This contrast highlights the artist's belief in the interconnectedness of detail and difference, creating a subtle visual dialogue. In this body of work, Naitaddi challenges the conventions of photography itself. He treats the photographic process as an experimental space that allows for distortion, transformation and contradiction. Through this fluid and evolving visual language, Second Intention seeks to uncover the layered and often unstable identity of 'home'.

SECOND INTENTION: The Economy of Illusion, curated by Inês Valle at LE 18 (Marrakesh, September–November 2025), is the second-part of Ziad Naitaddi’s ongoing artistic exploration. The first presentation of this project, titled IMPORTO: The Economy of Illusion, was presented at Galeria Dínamo After in Porto in March 2025, curated by Elisabeth Piskernik. Together, these exhibitions form a two-part reflection on perception, displacement, and the visual politics of migration between Morocco and Portugal.

As part of the exhibition in Marrakesh, a free public programme will invite audiences to engage more deeply with its themes through performance, conversation, and film. This programme is developed by LE 18 in collaboration with Le Cube – Independent Art Room in Rabat.

• 27 September 2025 — The Sand You Carry in Your Pockets: A performative lecture by Ziad Naitaddi and Inês Valle at LE 18, Marrakesh, exploring the emotional and symbolic weight of migration and memory. 

• 29 September 2025 at 6 PM — Where Figs Ripen and Sand Sifts: A lecture-performance by Ziad Naitaddi and Inês Valle at Le Cube – independent art room, Rabat. This session continues the conversation through storytelling and critical reflection on displacement and identity. 

• 24 October 2025 at 6 PM — Fouad Is Not a Criminal: HOME: A film screening at LE 18, Marrakesh, followed by a conversation with Ziad Naitaddi and Fouad Beniouri, on his unique social-political statement about life and reality in Rabat/Morocco.

This public programme expands the exhibition’s critical lens, inviting audiences to reflect on the visual, emotional, and political dimensions of migration and the idea of home.

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This exhibition is part of the 2023–2026 Cera Project’s program, Territories, Resistance, Freedom. This project is presented in partnership with LE 18 (Marrakesh) and Le Cube – Independent Art Room (Rabat) with the support of Être-ICI, Hangar – Centro de Investigação Artística, ESAP - Escola Superior Artística do Porto, AL Mawred AL Thaqafy - Culture Resource and Nomad.